Objectives: Isotopic analysis has been proven a valuable tool for reconstructing dietary habits in the ancient world. In this work we examine the evolution of Greek diet from the Neolithic period (6800-3000 BC) to modern times. Materials and Methods: We present isotopic analysis results for delta C-13 and delta N-15 of adult human bone collagen from ancient (Kaiadas in Sparta) and modern populations (Crete), while at the same time we review published results for delta C-13 and delta N-15 of adult human bone collagen from Neolithic to modern times of Greece. Results: The delta C-13 isotopic values evolve to more positive values, while they present a greater variability toward modern times. Furthermore, the delta N-15 values gradually increase over time. Discussion: We discuss the differences i) in human diet through time for the whole Greece and ii) individually for the island of Crete and we conclude that over time human diet becomes richer in high trophic level proteins such as marine sources with a larger variety of food sources.

Salts crystallizing in the pore space of building stones cause stone monument degradation. The origin of these salts can be variable: marine, air pollution, together with marine aerosols, building or restoration material. Previous studies using sulfur and nitrogen isotopes demonstrated the important role of atmospheric sulfur and nitrogen to black crust formation and determining it as a principal component of salt weathering of stone monuments. In this study we present isotopic measurements of black crusts from monuments located in North Greece and Attica. The applied methodology is capable to distinguish the sources of the sulfate salts (atmospheric pollution, marine aerosols, bio-pollution).

In recent years, isotopic analysis has been proven a valuable tool for the determination of the origin of various materials. In this article, we studied the 18O and 13C isotopic values of 210 olive oil samples that were originated from different regions in Greece in order to verify how these values are affected by the climate regime. We observed that the δ18O isotopic values range from 19.2 ‰ to 25.2 ‰ and the δ13C values range from −32.7 ‰ to −28.3 ‰. These differences between the olive oils’ isotopic values depended on the regional temperature, the meteoric water, and the distance from the sea. Furthermore, we studied the 13C isotopic values of biophenolic extracts, and we observed that they have same capability to differentiate the geographic origin. Finally, we compared the isotopic values of Greek olive oils with samples from Italy, and we concluded that there is a great dependence of oxygen isotopes on the climatic characteristics of the different geographical areas.

We review the stable isotopic data of recovered Greek bones from the Early Neolithic to the Late Bronze period in order to examine dietary changes over time. As an isotopic baseline we use the published fauna data of the periods. The analysis revealed a diet that included a significant proportion of foods based on C3 plants, and the bulk of the animal protein must have been provided by terrestrial mammals with a small but detectable proportion of marine protein for coastal and island populations. A more significant contribution of marine protein is observed for Bronze Age populations while the enrichment in both C and N isotopes is connected, for some areas, to the introduction of millet during the Bronze Age, and to freshwater consumption. An extensive database of Greek food sources is presented and compared to the fauna from the prehistoric periods (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age) of the literature. We propose that this database can be used in palaeodiet reconstruction studies.